


The Final Rewind After Countless Rewinds Left Me Begging For One More

by OliveShen



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: After Completing The Mission, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Henry falls first, M/M, Spoilers, Stickmen angst?? what am i doing, That dude who says the funny fail sentences? Yeah they're a plot point now, Time Travel, Timelines, Yes this is a ship fic. just letting you know, my respect for myself has gone down im writing stickmen angst., no beta we die like charles, stickmintwt? ur hurting me. i like it, the music there? it really hit me hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25971721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OliveShen/pseuds/OliveShen
Summary: Henry had died trying to get into the bank.Some random deity gives him the opportunity to redo his mistakes and go back to where he messed up.The catch?He has to do everything. All the possible ways he could've failed, and all the possible ways he could've succeeded. Plus, after death, the deity says some backhanded snarky comment before rewinding the clock.He's successfully broken into the bank, escaped the prison, stolen the diamond, infiltrated the airship, and fled the complex.While completing the mission, the deity tells him this."Whatever ending you get last is where I stop rewinding time. No more do-overs. You'll live a normal, mortal life like everyone else. Make sure you end off on a good note, because that will be your life from then on."What is the last combination of timelines Henry needs to get through before he's free from this death-ridden hell?Government Supported Private Investigator,and Presumed Dead.Henry begs for one last do-over.
Relationships: Charles Calvin/Henry Stickmin
Comments: 58
Kudos: 383





	1. No More, Unless You're Willing To Risk It

_ "Whatever ending you get last is where I stop rewinding time. No more do-overs. You'll live a normal, mortal life like everyone else. Make sure you end off on a good note, because that will be your life from then on." _

Those words rang in Henry's ears as he stared at the last combination of endings he punched in.

Henry had died countless deaths and is really now unfazed by even his own allies dying. Why? Cause he knew that it would all end well in the end. They'd be alive, he'd be alive, and he'd rewind back to when it didn't even happen. It'll all start over again.

All because of some deal he made with this 'deity'. In his mind, that's what he described it as. It's the only reason why he's not a sitting corpse on the ground, waiting to be thrown into a pit. 

He's not sure if he should be grateful or spiteful. Maybe he should've stayed dead, just so he wouldn't have experienced death countless times. One was enough. This was hell. Thanks to this, he was now overwhelmingly familiar with a bullet piercing his spine.

Yet, some positives arose. He would never admit this to anyone- mostly because he's incredibly mute- but Ellie and Charles are the overwhelming positives to this death hell. Yes, he still hated the Tophats even though he finally gained their trust and respect that one time. They don't count as positives. 

Or... maybe he was just Charles biased.

The thought came to Henry's mind, and he covered his smile with his hands, but he quickly tried to think of a different topic to stop smiling. Something quick and simple. Ah, yes, death is a good topic changer.

He hovered his hand overtop the button to combine the two timelines, yet hesitated. A certain dread filled his body.

Once he presses the button, it'll be inevitable for him to avoid more death. He knew that. He knew the pain all too well.

Yet, a weird smile crossed his face yet again. He knew that Charles would be in this route due to Government Supported Private Investigator, and Henry was pretty fond of the man. Even though he had gotten Henry killed more times than he'd like, once Henry looked back at the ways he died because of him he couldn't help but chuckle a little. They were too stupid, that it was hilarious. The high-five being his personal favorite. 

He remembered that moment once again, and then suddenly went back into a neutral expression.  _ "Maybe I should've made Triple Threat my last ending."  _ He thought.  He couldn't help but think about this what-if- although this entire cycle has been filled with death-ridden what-ifs. 

Ellie isn't in this route.  That much is certain. They never exchanged words, because Henry rushed out of there instead of asking for her help in Presumed Dead. 

Henry finally pushed the start button, and just hoped that at the end of it all, he'd find Ellie again. 

But, maybe he should've been concerned about losing what he had in this timeline.

~o0o~

"Henry! I heard you died!" 

Then, suddenly Henry was at the bar with Charles. The deity was mighty fond of timeskips. Henry couldn't help but be annoyed, he wanted to see what Charles would say after that. 

"Yeah... Ever since they got that orbital station set up, they've been super strong." It was right then and there Henry noticed he was spacing out, then immediately started paying attention to Charles. "Now that I think about it, you and I made a pretty good team in the past!"

_ "And in the other timelines too."  _ Henry thought to himself, smiling at the headphoned man. 

"I bet we can take em out. It's starting to... GET PERSONAL." 

Why'd he say it like that?

"Well? Whaddya say? You wanna help me take em out for good?"

Henry gave Charles a confident look and a cocky thumbs-up, and Charles sprang out of his seat. 

"Alright, follow me. I have a way we can get into space."

Charles opened the door, but once Henry blinked he was already inside the government ship. He was used to these random cuts to the action, but he seemed to get complainy in his thoughts when it happened during a Charles timeline. He hoped the deity could read his mind, because oh boy did he say all the insults he could to it in his head.

He and Charles were steadfast in their assault in the orbital station, and Henry even laughed at a few of the fails. He was pleasantly surprised when the Charles option finally worked, and man, was he over the moon when Charles said "I've always wanted to do that."

Though getting his spine broken due to the door was horrible, and the reverse thruster hurt like all hell, he appreciated the fact that he didn't die as much this time around.

Henry finally chose the beat-up escape pod, and the two of them took a breather inside of it. This was it, no more death. No more rewinds, just him and Charles. He felt a wave of relief consume him, and he started slouching. Charles exhaled, "Ahh, well that was intense. Can't wait to go ho-"

A tophat member grabbed Henry from the neck and dragged him right out of the pod.

It all happened too quickly, his heart rate shot up, and he suddenly had no idea what was going on. He knew one thing: Charles pushed him back in almost immediately. And that's when the door closed.

Henry realized Charles wasn't inside the pod. He rushed up to the window to see where he was, and the tophat's face was smushed against the broken glass. He could barely hear Charles' muffled voice, "Don't worry about me, I'll find another way."

The escape pod took off. Leaving Henry to look through the glass to try and locate Charles but to no avail. His hands were placed right on the pods' walls as a way to help him look closer without tipping. His earpiece started making noise, and his heart never raced faster.

"Henry? You there?"

Henry hummed in acknowledgment, but the hum came out as more of a stressed noise. 

"Man... that roughed me up. Got him though. Gotta be another escape pod in here somewhere."

Henry couldn't even say anything. He wished he could. He wanted to break being mute so badly, but his brain didn't know what to say. What... what could he say? Henry wanted so hard to believe that there was another pod. The chances were too low. He stayed silent with his fists clenched, eyes closed, and hoped that time would rewind like it always did. 

It didn't.

"We did it though. We got em."

His mind screamed and prayed for a rewind. For the pod to stop. For the clock to stop. For the dread in his heart to stop and rewind to where it didn't happen.

It didn't.

"Ahh... pretty good plan."

He clenched his fists and closed his eyes even harder, and hoped that if he willed it... time would go back.

It didn't.

"You could say it was the greatest-"

The heart-stopping explosion rang through his ears. Pounding on the glass as hard as he could, he secretly hoped that he just lost communication. He sunk down to the floor, and reality sunk down with him.

There's no way he could've survived.

Henry Stickmin, slowly accepting reality and leaving denial, opened his eyes to the General's eyes gazed upon him. "General! The Tophat station has been destroyed."

He didn't even have enough strength in him to complain about the time skip.

"Excellent news!"

Henry looked away from him after he said that. The fact that the General didn't know hit him hard.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't even get to answer before he opened his eyes to see Charles' gravestone right in front of him, with the headphones sitting right on top. 

The reality forced itself to sink in- no, not sink. It slapped Henry until he had no more doubts in his mind.

Charles was dead.

Henry didn't even notice he was saluting him with tears flooding his vision.

The scene cut from his death and immediately to his grave didn't help Henry either. It only made him despair harder.

Once he wiped the tears, he suddenly appeared in his bed instead. The time skips stopped there, but Henry now despised them. If they never happened, he would've had more time with Charles.

He tried to sleep it off.

He couldn't sleep.

He shot out of his bed in a weird mix of extreme anger and sadness. 

His thoughts were clear as day, and directed at an obvious target. _"_ _ Deity. I want one last do-over." _

"Eh. Maybe if you said it out loud, I would care more."

His eyes showed clear anger. He spoke with power- something no one would expect from him. The selective mute spoke to no one but the voice inside his head.

"Deity, I demand one last do-over."

Its snarky personality rang through his ears. 

"Now we're talking. Are you ready to suffer?"

What more could it do that could be any worse than what he's feeling right now?

"I'll rewind time back to when you infiltrated the airship. For you, there will be no time skips, no snarky fail remarks, no time freezes to think, and of course no more rewinds. Henry Stickmin, you will go through this as if you were a mortal. 

Die once, and stay dead."

Henry was willing to take that chance.

He was just glad the deity gave him one.


	2. Left With Incriminating Evidence, But Also With Surprises

Hey, It’s me, your best friend, Deity! Yay! I’ll be narrating Henry’s suffering, all for your reading pleasure.  Just  because I agreed to stay uninvolved doesn’t mean I can’t watch him now, can I?

I mean, ahem, narrator's voice. Low, deep, enthralling. Yep, that works.

Henry's face wasn't squished anymore once he got his head off of the box and awoke immediately. He had a gigantic headache and had to take a moment to regain his vision.  The General’s figure  was blurred  in front of him, but luckily for him, he knew what he was getting into, so he tuned out the General explaining everything . Henry knew more about the Tophat clan than the General did, so there was no need to listen.

His mind raced around, trying to get a hold of the situation. Trying to remember what he was feeling back when he was in this situation for the first time.

Right. It was dread. Dread again? Well, it seemed to live with him and never left his side. Wait, actually, that wasn’t true. He seemed to loosen it's holds when he was with Charles or Ellie. That’s about it.

That’s when he realized that if he dies on this airship at any point, Charles wouldn’t care now, would he? For him, he's an acquaintance right now.

The thought raced through Henry’s mind, the thought of dying before Charles would get to know him would make this all for naught.

Past Henry didn’t know that this is where the more notable positives start for him, so all he knew was this was a new setting. A new setting means more choices, which leads to more death, which leads to more pain. But not this time, this run? It’s going to be flawless.

Hopefully.

If there’s one thing Henry was confident in, it was his memory.  Of course, he remembered the ways he’s died  horribly, but the ones that worked out well were also  deeply  engraved in his brain.

He didn’t even realize his body was on autopilot, and that he was already looking out at the gigantic airship.  There were a few options here, but he did wonder if he still had his absolute bull void that let random objects appear in mid-air.

Or was that another random side effect that I had on him?

Well, he decided to not take any chances. The earpiece had Charles do  mostly  everything for him, so if the void doesn’t end up working, he doesn’t have to worry. He thinks. Right?

Well, the earpiece is the only way to get Triple Threat, so he took it right away. Charles saw, and hit him with the thumbs up as he lifted the helicopter overtop the airship.

Henry gave Charles a thumbs-up back before jumping off and landing on the prominent red metal. “Check check, Charles. Thought I’d uhh, give you a heads up. Uhh, the guy down there? The bad guy? So uhh, yeah. Good luck.”

Immediately, Henry started panicking. He remembered that the vacuum was the right choice, but where did he get it from exactly? Was there some weird time skip to where he got the vacuum? Or did he  just  manifest it out of thin air? 

Ok, uh, that’s alright, he’s got time to try something. Heeeyaaa. Whoosheewoshhee. Appear! Vacuum! Ok, yeah, nope. Uhh? Vacuum appearus! M-M-M-M-M-M-MANIFESTATION. Maybe if he closes his eyes, it’ll work..? …

…

Yeah, still no.

“…Henry..? Are you going to do something?” Charles sounded confused, and if he could read Henry’s mind, he’d be even more so. He  just  tried manifesting a vacuum of all things out of thin air.

That’s when Henry realized that this is the worst route if he wanted to stay mute. He didn’t know how Charles understood what he was saying back when Henry first did this.

Nothing made sense to him anyway.

Actually, he was going to blame it all on the deity.

Thanks, man!

He threw away being mute and spoke  softly . “…Do you… have a vacuum..?”

“A vacuum? Wait, did you  just  speak? I got word that you don’t speak like, uhh, at all, so I’m kind of questioning the validity of-“

“…Vacuum..?”

“Oh, right. Uh, we do, for some reason.  I think  we needed to bring this to the base or something later, so uh… Here you go. Wait, it’s going to make a big noise once It drops, how are we going to do this- OH CRAP-“

Charles dropped the vacuum and Henry caught it before it hit the red steel. His arms were burning, but he got a bit of practice for this from the diamond. He set it down slowly and took a tiny break, before setting everything up and sucking up the Tophats from below.

Wow, that worked. I mean, of course, it worked, that’s how it worked last time. Henry went on over and let the Tophats suffocate inside of the vacuum as he went down the top entrance.

“Hey, good job there. Oh, uh, so we should probably look for something incriminating. Something to prove that they’re criminals. You know, this is the whole point of this operation.”

The Tophats were saying something, but Henry didn’t care. He remembered that glue was the right answer, but does he also get that from Charles?

If the deity wanted him to do this without his weird space-time infinite pocket of random stuff, then why didn’t they put him back to when he was about to break the bank instead ?

Just kidding, I’m the deity. That wouldn’t be fun now, would it? If dear old Henry died before he could see the one he meant to save?

He sighed, and then finally spoke once more. Even quieter this time,  just  in case the Tophats were listening in. “Do… do you guys have my stuff up there? Like my teleporter, my transdimensionizer… All that jazz?”

“Ohh, now I know what the General forgot when he snatched you. He forgot to get your stuff. Yeah, it’s at your house. Want me to go and get it?”

Go and get it? He’s in the middle of a mission, there’s no time for that. Henry mentally laughed, but also panicked. “Do you also have glue up there?”

He felt stupid for asking, but it’s the only chance he’s got. But what’s the chance of him also having glue up there? Why would they even have glue? Glue? Glue is the answer here. Out of all things, it’s glue. It’s glue.

“Oh, yeah, sure, here.”

What the hell.

Oh, Henry, what a lucky man you are. Even without my help, he’s still rocking this.

Glue dropped down the hatch, and Henry caught it before it hit the ground. He  quickly  spread it all over his hands and made his way over to the other side by using the roof. He managed to get to the vault and cell entrance but didn’t stick the landing quite as well as he hoped.

“Hello again! See that records sign? Where it says records? That’s  probably  a good place to look, right? Let me, uh, help you get across that gap.”

Henry didn’t hesitate at all with his sentence, “Robo Helper.”

“Wow, I’m surprised you know exactly what stuff I could send over to you! Alright, here it comes!”

Of course, Charles didn’t question it any further and sent the robo helper in. Knowing Charles, he  probably  won’t even think twice about it later. Henry chuckled at that thought, and went across the gap with the robot.

“I don’t think that guy knows how to open a door.  Just  let me take care of this.”

Oh, right, this guy.

Henry felt a little sorry for him, remembering that this guy was one of the guys who was on his side when Ellie kicked him out of Tophat leadership.

This dude was still a Tophat, so Henry  really  couldn’t care more. “Try melting his bones. I mean- if that’s something you can do.”

Subtle, Henry, good job.

“Ooh, what are you, psychic? Let’s do it.”

Actually, I guess you don’t have to be too subtle when it comes to Charles.

The Tophat’s bones melted right in front of him, and that was a memory that was committed to staying inside of Henry’s mind. It felt weird, seeing someone melted.

Charles was a scary dude to make an enemy of-

Bwaha, sorry, saying that sentence out loud made me break.

He wanted to rush right into the records room and take down the guy in there, but that’s when he realized he needed to improvise.

The right answer here is the spider on a stick. That’s something Henry doesn’t have a hold of right now, and he can’t go over there to think about what to do. This was a quick-time fail. If he’s there for too long, Charles will make some random observation and screw him over. Actually…

“Charles, I need you to stay dead silent until I tell you it’s clear.”

“What? Oh, okay. Muting for now.”

Sweet, those things have a mute option, who would’ve known?

Henry now had time to think comfortably, and he still thought of a plan as swiftly as he always does. It’s  just  one dude sitting in a chair. He could take him out. He’s a strong dude, and he’s taken down someone before when he was escaping with Ellie.

Alright, he opened the door and sneaked on behind the dude before choking him until he passed out.  Henry  quickly  snagged the file he was reading and went over and opened the vent immediately and went down.

“Woah, wait, wait, no way you’re getting through there. There are lots of guys and lots of guns, all I’m going to say- wait, you’re already in the vent? Oh, sweet, it’s like you’re a genius.”

Genius? Nah.  Just  a dude who knows how to avoid death here.

“Alright, I’ve hacked into their power grid, what do you want me to do?”

Animal noise, Henry, pleaaaase.

“Reroute the power.”

You’re no fun.

Here you would see a comedic cut to where the power got rerouted, but I can’t exactly do that here since Henry doesn’t see through my eyes anymore. He safely got through and poked his head above the hatch.

“Alright Henry, you’re almost there! I’m right outside, so  just  open the doors and I’ll uhh, get ya on the chopper.”

Henry immediately pressed the button on his earpiece and pressed the button that opens the door. One of the Tophat’s that were there spoke, “Hey! What’re you doing?”

“Yeah, uh, we got a situ-“

Henry blasted them off using the gravity gun from the earpiece before they could finish his sentence, but he swore in his mind. He didn’t blast him off in time, and now the Right Hand Man would appear real soon. He sprinted off of the ship as fast as he could so he could gravity gun upwards and onto the chopper-

But something was different.

The Right Hand Man appeared faster than he  initially  thought.

As soon as Henry was up in the air and about to land on the chopper, he got shot in the left arm. A pain that was oh so familiar to him, yet he could never bear it. Getting shot will never not hurt.  He yelled in pain in the air and he landed on the helicopter shortly after, with his body slamming onto the cold helicopter floor. His blood was seeping, trying to paint the grey steel around him.

If this was old Henry, he would’ve sat there and waited for the suffering to end without saying anything, but now he’s been using his voice. He wanted to make that normal. He wanted to talk to Charles, and hell, even to Ellie at some point later on.

He didn’t want the two best people he knew to not even know how his voice sounded like. They deserved it. They made hell not so bad for him, and that’s a great feat. Charles spoke through the earpiece still as he flew away from the airship, “Woohoo, Henry! You got them! Dang, you’re good.  Maybe  even better than me!”

“…Charles, help…” Henry’s voice was desperate and even softer than it usually is. The memories of dying came back to him almost rapidly-

No, no, no-

He didn’t want to die. Not again. Not again. Haven’t I already died enough..? He thought, scraping the floor of the helicopter to reach Charles faster. He held his arm in the place the bullet went through to stop the bleeding.

“Henry-“ Charles saw him bleeding out on the floor, and his eyes widened. Yet, he regained his composure pretty  quickly.  “Uhh, let me patch you up real quick there- I’ll do this, then  quickly  drive you over to where we can get that bullet out of ya, okay?“ Charles helped Henry stand up, and even though Henry ached and was suffering after every step, he toughed through it. He set Henry over to the extra seat in the heli, and started patching him up.

Henry didn’t remember any of it.

He was about to doze off after escaping death again.

He’s gone through one step-

Now, he’s  just  got to escape The Wall.

Well, first he’s got to get captured by them, but Henry didn’t exactly know when he got captured, so he’ll wait it out.

…Actually,  maybe  he’ll try to get closer to Charles while he waits for himself to get kidnapped.

Even though he got shot, he fell asleep with happy thoughts.

Even I couldn’t help but feel happy for him.


	3. It's Moving All Too Quickly, Even Without Time Jumps

Henry woke up quietly, and up above was just a shade of green. The breeze must've irritated his mind and made him awaken. His mind was still waking up as he shifted around the stiff bed, and right as he adjusted himself, he closed his eyes to go right back to sleep-

That is, until he heard shifting that wasn't his own.

The thought immediately crossed his mind. Someone's here. _"Who's that, I live alone-"_

Henry shot up out of bed immediately, not remembering too much of yesterday. The more he tried to recall, the more he forgot. The more he tried to remember, the more distracted he got from trying to comprehend his surroundings. It felt like he just woke up from a hazy dream. He remembered bits and pieces, but never the full picture, although he's been in that airship too many times to count- Henry jumped to a conclusion quickly.

It was a dream. It was, wasn't it? Why would the deity give him a second chance, when he's been given over a hundred chances already? The breeze made his feet cold, numbing his arm a little bit.

"...Henry? Oh, you're awake!" Charles lifted up the tent entrance with his arm, gracefully showing his headphones and his smile. Henry showed nothing but pure shock. "That's good! Food's warming up, so I'll be with you for now. How's your inju-"

"...Charles?" _He's dead. He's supposed to be dead- Why am I seeing him right now? Why? He sacrificed himself, yet why is he right here- Why is he acting as if nothing happened-_

"Yeah _.._? Oh, yeah, you're in one of the military tents. After the mission, we had to get you over here to get that bullet out of your arm-"

"Oh, I see what this is..." Henry's shocked expression went to anger immediately, and Charles took one step back in response. His tone sounded like he was accusing someone, but he couldn't deal with the frustration and cried at the same time. "I couldn't save you, so now I'm being haunted by my guilt- Now I'm seeing some false version of you that my mind is making up, is that right? I've seen you and been with you too many times that my mind- it can even make you up- I'm talking to myself right now- You're just my mind playing tricks! Or, no, is this just the work of that DAMNED sadistic deity that loves seeing me suffer? Let me go! I don't need any more reminders that I failed in a game designed to restart until I get it right- And I even tried to not be mute with people in my dream, thinking it was real! Even my effort in a dream went to waste- he'll never hear me speak! Not Ellie, not Charles- But you have, deity, and I hate you for that more than you could ever know! I should've stayed dead on that stupidly warm sand, if I did, maybe I'd die with a normal amount of regrets!"

There was no time for anything normal in Henry's time with the deity. No time for mental breakdowns. Now that he's been released from its hold, something broke.

Oh, my bad, saying 'released from its hold' sounds like I'm some evil, evil being. No time for a breakdown sounds like a blessing, I'll never understand mortals. Such little time, yet they spend it on this.

What? I'm uneducated on the human mind? No. They're uneducated on mine. I just want to see what he'll do, I don't care about what he feels. He should've known what he was getting into before he agreed to my deal. I told him everything before he agreed.

Yet, he blames everything on me.

Humans are strange.

"Henry, what are you talking about..?" Charles stepped closer to Henry as he started rambling on and on. Henry's vision blurred as his speech started getting faster and even more incomprehensible. More than it already was. Charles could only understand a few 'get out''s and 'I'm sorry''s before he decided to do something. "Hey, Henry! I'm right here-"

"No, you're not! Get away from me, you sadistic freak- you're not real-"

"Yes," Charles put his hands on Henry's shoulders, effectively clearing Henry's vision out of sheer realization. "I am."

"...Charles?" Henry squeaked as he went over to actually touch Charles' arm.

It's really there.

The cold, hard realization hit him like a truck.

"You know, for a supposedly mute man, you sure can talk a lot." Charles smiled at him, hoping that sentence made him realize he was really there. "Deep breaths, okay? You can, uhh, do that for me, right?"

Henry started to calm down. He started to remember more as a result. Everything happened so quickly once he woke up that his mind was confused as hell.

"Ok, uhh, you're good now? What happened yesterday, Henry? Remember it?"

It took a while longer to remember for him.Some other timelines bled into his thoughts when he was trying to remember, so he had to think about it even more. He sounded unsure himself even when he reached a conclusion and looked at Charles for confirmation, "...I got the documents on the clan thanks to your help, and we left with them?"

"Yeah, but you also left with this bullet in your arm, so you're going to stay here for a bit longer, okay?" Charles pointed at Henry's bandage on his arm. He didn't even notice it was there, but once he moved his arm he started grunting in pain. "Ooh, yeah, don't move it, dude."

That's funny. Henry's never had to deal with the aftermath of being shot. He's overfamiliar with the feeling, just not dealing with the injury.

"Ok, uhh, I'm going to get your food real quick- Stay here." Charles started moving to get out of the tent.

"Wait," Henry acted impulsively and grabbed Charles' arm. With his injured arm, mind you. For him, the pain wasn't even an afterthought, "can you... stay?"

Henry’s eyes met Charles, and his teary eyes were met with some confused ones.

"Nah. I need to get your food."

Oh, c'mon, Charles. The dude just reenacted a scene from a drama just to make you stay, and you do that? For shame! For shame..! I even described the eye scene!

"...Please." Although he was scared out of his mind earlier, now his voice held some sort of power to it. He let out those words like it wasn't an option to say no- and if anyone did, they'd feel guilty, even.

Charles exhaled, but let out a smile right after. "Uhh, alright. I'll just ask someone to bring it on over for me."

He spoke into his earpiece lodged into the headphones he had. He said something into it, but Henry didn't really care. He was just grateful that Charles even stayed with him. Just him being there felt nice. From a life where Henry flew solo, company was what he craved now.

"So, let's talk a bit!" Charles gleefully beamed at Henry, and Henry was caught by surprise that a conversation was actually starting. "You're a little bit of an, uhh, legend, so I did think the operation would go well- But hell dude, you surpassed literally every expectation I had! Even the boss was super impressed. My vision of you is so good, hope you know that! I expected you to be some random adrenaline junkie, but color me impressed."

"Haha... thanks..?" It was a bit much, Charles just blurted out a lot. He wasn't even sure if he WAS an adrenaline junkie back when he wasn't getting murdered- he might've been! It seems to fit him pretty well. I can imagine the smirk on his face vividly. "Although... You did most of the work for me."

"Oh, I suppose- Hey!" Charles raised up his arms in protest. He sounded like he was having a good time nonetheless, "No! I bet you still would've done great even without my help!"

Debatable.

“…You’re probably right.”

No.

"Probably? Oh, glad to see you have your ego back! What would you have done if you didn't take the earpiece?"

Great question, Charles! Thankfully for you, good ol Henry here can tell you around five different ways this could've ended! And the jazillion ways he could die here! Oh, is he sure glad to be answering this question! Oh, am I sure glad to be a sarcastic lil shi-

"...Well, the more aggressive ways are some of my favorite ways to go about things..." You would've never expected that from a mute. Charles raised his eyebrows in both confusion and curiosity, waiting for a more thorough explanation. Henry read his face well and chuckled before continuing. "Stealth always leaves my heart beating with adrenaline, but I get to use that adrenaline on other people with aggressive ways. That, and I'm not too bad at dodging. I feel like no one can touch me when I see their shocked faces once I dodge.”

"Interesting! Oh, sorry, we drifted off the original question," Charles sheepishly laughed and put his hand behind his head like he was embarrassed, "what would you have done if you didn't take the earpiece?"

Ouch, so close, almost diverted from this question.

Henry exhaled, but smiled right after to make sure Charles didn't worry. "I probably would've just asked you guys to cannonball me in there so I could take the top dude hostage. Sure, they have weapons, but I'm Henry Stickmin."

Ah, yes, Henry Stickmin! The dude who died getting into the Bank Stickmin! Do I have to remind him that he didn't even die to someone else’s hand? It was his. How embarrassing! I almost feel bad! That Henry Stickmin! Yeah!

"You know what you're about, I like that! Hey, you ever consider joining us..? Like, joining up with me, specifically." Henry just tilted his head to the side, wanting a little bit more of an explanation. Charles fidgeted, "Uhh- Unless you don't want to, that's okay. I just- I know you're now a free man and all, but I can't help but wonder what would happen if your skills were put to work against all these other bad dudes and all. I'm sure the General won't mind! You’ve more than proved your worth!”

Henry took a long while to process exactly what he said. Something felt off. Really off. No, he was sure this was actually Charles- he recovered from that little panic earlier- he was concerned about the events. It's not going exactly by script. He got shot by the Right Hand Man back in the airship- that never happened when he did that route before. If he accepts this offer, he might never get inside The Wall. That prison with Ellie. That oh so acclaimed prison. A lot of things were the same here- the options to victory, to be clear. Yet, the smallest difference such as waiting too long at the rooftop and asking Charles for the glue and vacuum...

_"Did it alter something?_ " Henry pondered with his hands at his chin, and Charles was awkwardly staring at him. Man, Henry, I said no time freezes! Stop thinking to yourself! You're in the middle of a conversation!

"Uhhh..." Charles tried to break the silence, but Henry kept on thinking. In fact, he was thinking even harder now- his eyebrows were furrowed, and Charles felt sweat drop from his face although it was a breezy cold day. The silence got to him, but thankfully his earpiece buzzed before the awkwardness consumed him. "Yep, I uhh, hear ya loud and clear. You what? Uhh, I'll be right there!"

Charles almost scrambled right out of there immediately before remembering that Henry was in the same room as him. Henry was STILL contemplating. No, not contemplating whether or not to say yes to Charles' offer. He was wondering about some timey whimey route schimey whimey. Man isn't even in his thoughts! Poor dude.

Charles' voice fluctuated, sounding a little embarrassed. "Uh, ok, so uh... I'm going to go get your food for real now... Bye-"

"Huh? Oh, alright. Bye-bye."

Bwhaha, Henry Stickmin, feared criminal says "bye-bye"? Not something cooler like, I don't know, "See ya"?

" _...Deity, can you confirm anything for me? Or is helping me right now banned?"_

Oh crap, he's talking to me. Ballsy.

"Depends on what you're asking. Fire away." I smirked real hard, but he couldn't see. No one can. He breathed in to ask his question, but immediately, I stopped him. "Nah, just kidding- I already know what you're going to ask. The way everything is playing out? It’s changing. YOU changed it.”

He stares off into space with an annoyed look on his face. It was meant for me, but I'm not a physical being. “ _That means..?”_

“Who knows? You might not even get abducted and slapped into that prison, or Ellie might not even be there. Ever heard of the butterfly effect?”

Suddenly panic arose inside of him once again. Doubt alongside it, like they were a pair. He knew exactly what it was, but hearing it come from the ‘stupid deity’ was enough to raise his hairs on end.

Everything suddenly got more complicated.

I laughed at him, “Henry, you wanted your own life. Your own life doesn’t follow some sort of script anymore. All your different choices lead to a bigger impact.

And that doesn’t just apply to you.

It applies to everyone in the world.

Who are you going to blame this time?”

He gritted his teeth and looked right at his bullet wound, all bandaged up. That in itself was proof. The big differences were all there. Henry got shot, and Charles offered him to join up and fight.

Oh, and what’s Henry even going to say to that offer?

“Hey, the food’s here! It’s… cold now, but that’s uhh, okay, right?” Charles walked right on in before Henry could think about it anymore. “Hope you like soup. You know, cold… cold soup. This is kind of your fault, so don’t complain!”

He handed the soup bowl right on over to the bandaged man, and he held it with his shot arm so he could move the spoon freely without pangs every two seconds. He put the spoon in his mouth after dipping it inside the soup, and lo and behold- yep. Cold soup.

He didn’t say anything, but the expression on his face was enough to tell Charles that Henry regretted stopping him from getting the food earlier. Charles tried to hide his smile but failed miserably. He was met with Henry staring at him, but Charles’ smile was too bright for him to even be mad about it. He coughed, “Okay, okay, you were right.”

“Of course I was, man!” He nudged me to the side, and some of the cold soup fell onto the blanket Henry had. He took a sharp breath and prayed that Charles did not notice his reaction to the cold not only hurting him in his mouth but also apparently his legs. If he did, he might’ve burst into laughter, and Henry would’ve probably laughed alongside him. “Don’t know why you did that, I would’ve come back anyway. Wanna talk about anything else?”

Thankfully for Henry, Charles seemed to not bring up the offer. Because of the awkward silence right after or because he forgot, Henry didn’t really know which one it was. Though, all the time jumps and all did mess with his perception of time, so he couldn’t tell what the exact date was when he was inside The Wall.

“Do you know about The Wall?”

“Oh, uhh, that big prison? Heard they haven’t had an incident in fifty years! Crazy good streak.” Charles was drinking from a coffee cup right after he said that.

“…Think I can break out of it with your help?”

Charles spat out his coffee and it went all over Henry’s blanket. Henry’s felt all forms of cold and hot in the span of five minutes, his legs were on fire basically. He screamed and then Charles started screaming and then- AAAAAAAAAAA-

Then I started screaming as well!

Aw, I want to be there too.

Charles frantically pulled off the blanket and Henry just leaped off of the bed. Charles was practically yelling at this point, “I thought you wanted to be a free man! What’s this about breaking out of a prison!? Was I right about you being an adrenaline junkie!?”

“No, no- just listen for a second, stop running around like it’s the end of the world!” Henry had his eyes locked on the little copter boy that was running around the tent like it was nobodies business. He didn’t stop even when Henry asked him to, so he yelled out another statement. “…I have a friend that’s in there, okay?!”

Charles stopped in his tracks and gave Henry the most confused look in the world. “Henry, you have friends?”

“I- What is t- uh- Wel- Yeah, you.”

“I meant other than me, dude.”

A sweet sentence, but it really didn’t help your case, Henry.

…Technically he doesn’t? Dude has been a lone wolf for the longest time until he met Charles. He hasn’t even met Ellie in this timeline yet.

“…Yeah, yeah man of course I do- pshh- That’s exactly why I need you to break us out of that prison!”

“And how do I know that you’re not just looking for your adrenaline fix? Or to make some sort of headline?”

“I’m being completely serious!”

“Mhm. No.”

“…If you help me, I’ll take you up on that offer of yours. And maybe even my friend will join, too. We can be a Triple Threat or something.”

Winks. Smiles at the camera.

Charles’ protests suddenly died down and he looked conflicted. “I- uh- no, dude! I mean- maybe- agh, I want to be an innocent man, Henry!”

Oh, right, a prison break is something a criminal would do.

“Okay, well, if I ever call you from The Wall, pick me up, okay?” Henry couldn’t hold his laughter, so it sounded more of a joke to headphone boy over here. Charles laughed alongside him, not knowing that’s exactly what he’s planning to do.

“What’s your friend’s name? And how’d they get there? I thought The Wall only held all the notorious criminals.”

“Ellie. And, uh, I’m… not sure. I’m not one hundred percent sure she’s even there.”

“…What?”

“I’ll just call you when I’m breaking out of the prison, okay? You better be there for me.” The smile he had on wasn’t uneasy, it was genuine. He really expected Charles to have his back. This is when the realization set in for headphones over here.

  
“Wait, you’re being serious? I thought you were joking-“

“Charles!” The General stepped right into the tent. His eyes were on Charles specifically, but his gaze went to Henry a few times. Henry didn’t return eye contact. He realized Henry was out of bed, then turned to see the coffee ridden sheets. His eyebrows furrowed, “What in the- you two are cleaning this up. Right now. After you do that, Henry, rest up, and Charles!”

“Ah- uh, yes?”

“We have another mission. Come see me right after.”

The General left, but his intimating aura still stayed with the two joking boys.

They started cleaning up the sheets, and Charles couldn’t help but laugh a few times. Although the coffee hurt like hell, Henry couldn’t hold back his smile either. They brought back the goofy atmosphere in no time flat.

Charles left shortly after, but Henry was still smiling. He’s enjoying this, every single moment. No time skips? No problems. For now.

His life is his to live.

Just don’t screw up in the future, Henry.

Don’t die.

You don’t know how hard it’ll be to get through this alive.


End file.
